Afcon in June is the way to go!

What a goal it was by Vincent Aboubakar to win Cameroon its fifth Africa Cup of Nations title last Sunday!

There cannot be many of the kind. In fact, the few to note include David Trezeguet’s volley which won Euro 2000 for France, and Eder’s strike that secured Portugal its first European championship last July.

These were priceless goals, as was being part of the whole euphoria that ensued. So, for Cameroon’s Allan Nyom to tell the BBC that he has no regrets not being part of this historical moment is to lie between his teeth. He makes Donald Trump look truthful.

Deep down, Nyom, who plays for West Bromwich Albion, is dying, seeing his contradictions. In the same interview as earlier mentioned, Nyom said he had actually decided to go to the Afcon but coach Hugo Broos was not about to summon someone that had earlier slapped him in the face to concentrate on West Brom.

Yet, as it turns out, winning Afcon cannot be exchanged for anything. It is big. Caf actually rewarded the winners with $4 million. Before then, the cash prize was $1 million. So, if it was about money for Nyom in choosing West Brom ahead of Cameroon, there were a few more dollars, if not for the pride, he would have made.

Perhaps it is not uncommon for one to learn the hard way or be an example for others. And as Nyom has learned, Caf has an opportunity – not only to improve the prize money, but also change the entire arrangement, timing and scheduling of Afcon.

It is a debate that has raged on for years, leading to unending rows between European clubs and African national teams. For a number of European club coaches, they frown at it because it kicks off in the middle of the season; a critical time for any team, as honours and the relegation threat are at a premium.

For instance, although it has not been proven beyond doubt that Sadio Mane’s presence at Afcon is the reason Liverpool has been losing, it coincided with it. That is why Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp, even without admitting it, must view the Afcon as a huge inconvenience to his cause.

Not that this will make anyone at Caf lose any sleep. In November 2014, when Ghana were in Kampala to face The Cranes in the penultimate group game in the 2015 Afcon qualifiers, I spoke to the Ghana FA boss, Kwesi Nyantakyi, on whether it was plausible for the Afcon to be rescheduled.

This was at the time when Morocco, the slated host of the 2015 tournament, wanted it pushed ahead because the Ebola scare was at its height. But Nyantakyi said that the Afcon had its traditional date in January. He added that the choice of January was also premised on it being the sunny month.

In essence, there would be no rain interruptions, a danger other months pose, according to Nyantakyi. However, studying the weather patterns in 42 African countries, North Africa, particularly Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, were at their coldest in January, averaging 11 degrees centigrade.

Nevertheless, they have hosted Afcon tournaments. In June, North Africa is a lot warmer, averaging temperatures of 25 degrees centigrade, which is just two degree points above the overall average temperature across Africa at that time.

So, there is no reason why the Afcon cannot be played in June at the end of the mainstream European league season, seeing how many African players it sustains.

Former Cranes international David Obua played for Hearts FC in Scotland between 2008 and 2012. And he knows a thing or two about how the Afcon scheduling bothers players. In that regard, he said: “I think Afcon should shift to June when there is less stress on players. Leaving your club in January puts you at risk of losing your place in the team.”

Of the 368 players at the 2017 Afcon, 250 play off the continent. Actually, 230 of them play in Europe. However, Moses Magogo, the Fufa president, who sits on the clubs committee in Caf, said: “We must not be oblivious of the fact that during January, a number of African leagues are in recess. They usually run between February and November. That is [partly] why Afcon is in January.”

He added that since the Afcon was shifted to the odd year, for it not to clash with the World Cup, maybe all African countries can also synchronize their leagues to run from August to May. This will provide for an Afcon in June instead.

Magogo acknowledges that finding a solution to the European clubs-versus-Afcon matter is important because if stars continue choosing their clubs ahead of nations, the appeal of the tournament will go down the drain.

For what it is worth, South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup in June with temperatures averaging 13 degrees centigrade. This did not affect African teams significantly, beyond their general technical and tactical deficiencies.

Therefore, Afcon in June is so plausible. It will help nip in the bud another Cameroon-like incident, where eight senior players chose to turn down an Afcon 2017 call-up.

jovi@observer.ug